Press release

Amazon Future Engineer Program to Fund Computer Science Courses in More Than 130 New York City High Schools

High schools in underrepresented communities of all five boroughs to benefit from Amazon Future Engineer, including more than 30 in Queens, the company’s future headquarters location

Students to have access to in-demand Introductory and AP Computer Science courses by this fall, helping them build skills for rewarding careers in technology and innovation

Amazon Future Engineer is a nationwide childhood-to-career program aimed at making computer science education accessible to children in underserved communities

SEATTLE--Jan. 29, 2019-- Amazon today announced that more than 130 high schools in New York City will start providing computer science courses, supported by Amazon Future Engineer, an initiative aimed at making computer science available to children in underrepresented and underserved communities. The more than 130 schools are located throughout all five New York City boroughs, including more than 30 in Queens, where the company plans to open one of its new headquarters.

With Amazon Future Engineer’s funding, the selected New York City high schools will offer Intro to Computer Science and Advanced Placement (AP) Computer Science classes through the New York-based curriculum provider, Edhesive. Amazon’s funding provides preparatory lessons, tutorials, and professional development for teachers, fully sequenced and paced digital curriculum for students, and live online support every day of the week for both teachers and students. These full-year courses are designed to inspire students and develop their understanding of technology and coding so that someday they might be interested in pursuing a professional career in the fast-growing field of computer science. All students participating in this program will receive a free membership to AWS Educate which provides them with free access to computing power in the AWS Cloud for their coding projects and content to learn about cloud computing.

“The Young Women's Leadership School of Queens is ecstatic to collaborate with Amazon on this great opportunity,” said George Diaz, Assistant Principal at The Young Women’s Leadership School of Queens. “Our young women will expand on their computer science knowledge and the skills that are so important and valuable in today’s economy. Amazon is helping fill a major gap in our curriculum that will help young people acquire the skills to build rewarding careers, while boosting prospects for our local community overall.”

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that by 2020 there will be 1.4 million computer-science-related jobs available and only 400,000 computer science graduates with the skills to apply for those jobs. Computer science is the fastest growing profession within the Science, Technology, Engineering or Math (STEM) field, but only 8% of STEM graduates earn a computer science degree, with a tiny minority from underprivileged backgrounds. And, students from underprivileged backgrounds are 8 to 10 times more likely to pursue college degrees in computer science if they have taken AP computer science in high school.

“We want to help make sure more children across New York City gain the coding skills necessary to have successful careers in many fields,” said Jeff Wilke, CEO Worldwide Consumer, Amazon. “We are excited that Amazon Future Engineer will immediately impact more than 130 schools and thousands of students who do not currently have access to computer science education. We will continue to invest in bringing these classes to more schools in New York City and across the U.S.”

Amazon Future Engineer is a comprehensive childhood-to-career program intended to inspire, educate, and train children and young adults from underserved and low income communities across the country to pursue careers in the fast-growing field of computer science. Amazon Future Engineer aims to inspire more than 10 million kids each year to explore computer science, help over 100,000 young people in 2,000 high schools in lower income communities take Introductory or Advanced Placement (AP) courses in computer science, and provide 100 students from underrepresented communities with four-year $10,000 scholarships as well as guaranteed internships to gain work experience.

NYC Charter High School - Architecture, Engineering and Construction Industries

NYC Museum School

Pan American International High School at Monroe

Preston High School

Queens High School for Information Research and Technology

Queens High School for the Sciences at York College

Queens Metropolitan High School

Queens School of Inquiry

Ralph R. McKee Career and Technical Education High School

Richard R. Green High School of Teaching

Richmond Hill High School

Robert F. Kennedy Community High School

Robert F. Wagner Secondary School for Arts and Technology

Saint Catharine Academy

Science Skills Center High School

St. Agnes Academic School

St. Barnabas High School

St. Demetrios School

St. Johns Preparatory School

St. Joseph High School

St. Joseph Hill Academy High School

St. Raymond High School for Boys

Summit Academy Charter School

Sunset Park High School

Susan E. Wagner High School

Teachers Preparatory High School

The Brooklyn Academy of Global Finance

The Cathedral School

The Clinton School

The Laboratory School of Finance and Technology

The Mary Louis Academy

The Renaissance Charter School

The Scholars' Academy

The School for Human Rights

The Urban Assembly Bronx Academy of Letters

The Young Women's Leadership School of Astoria

The Young Women's Leadership School of Queens

Theatre Arts Production Company School

Thomas A. Edison Career and Technical Education High School

Townsend Harris High School

University Neighborhood High School

Urban Assembly Institute of Math and Science for Young Women

Urban Assembly School for Applied Math and Science

Veritas Academy

William Cullen Bryant High School

World Journalism Preparatory: A College Board School

Xaverian High School

Xavier

YABC at Stevenson

Yeshivah of Flatbush Joel Braverman High School

Amazon Future Engineer is still accepting applications from schools for the high school piece of the program, in addition to the K-8, scholarship, and internship stages. Those interested in applying can do so at www.amazonfutureengineer.com.

About Amazon

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